Pakistan Bans Protest Movement in Renewed Crackdown on Dissent

The Pakistani government on Sunday banned an ethnic Pashtun rights movement that has long criticized the country’s powerful military, the latest sign of a renewed crackdown on public dissent and political opposition.

The Interior Ministry said that the movement — known as P.T.M., from words that translate as Pashtun Protection Movement — has been included on the list of proscribed organizations under the country’s antiterrorism laws, because of its involvement in “certain activities that are prejudicial to the peace and security of the country.”

It provided no further details. The ban, which takes effect immediately, includes the freezing of P.T.M. assets and shuttering of its offices.

While much of the government clampdown on dissent has targeted supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, analysts say the move to ban P.T.M. suggests that the military — long seen as the invisible hand guiding Pakistan’s politics — is expanding the scope of its efforts to squash dissent and enhance the legitimacy of the coalition government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. His government came to power earlier this year in general elections marked by allegations of vote rigging.

The government has struggled to tackle the country’s economic woes and security concerns, which have grown since the Taliban’s takeover of neighboring Afghanistan in 2021. Terrorist attacks have surged in parts of the country.

The ban on the P.T.M. was announced just days before it was set to hold a three-day gathering near Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on Friday to protest rising violence from militant groups and the threat of a new military operation in Pakistani districts bordering Afghanistan. The P.T.M. and other political parties fear this could lead to a mass displacement, similar to what occurred in 2014 during a military operation in the region.